Box Score  / Box Score

Phoenix, Ariz. – The No. 15 Lewis University men's volleyball team kicked off Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 25-14) win over Grand Canyon on Friday (Feb. 1) at Antelope Gym.
 
The Flyers move to 5-5 on the season and 1-0 in MIVA play while the Antelopes fall to 4-4 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.

“Every set we get closer to playing a complete match,” Lewis head men's volleyball coach Dan Friend said. “It was a battle to get a conference win on the road against a good Grand Canyon team.”
  
Lewis redshirt sophomore outside hitter Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) posted a game-high 16 kills with a .452 hitting percentage and four block assists. Redshirt senior Jay Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) added 15 kills and season-high five aces, while sophomore opposite Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) posted 11 kills.  Redshirt junior setter BJ Boldog (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) had 43 of Lewis' 46 assists.
 
Lewis went on a five-point swing to take a 13-7 lead in the first set. The Flyers earned kills from freshman middle hitter Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel), Fitterer and Powell as well as a block assist from Walsh and Powell and one Antelope attack error.
 
The Flyers connected on 15 kills in 23 attempts with no errors to hit .652 as Lewis capped off the first set, 25-19, with a triple block from sophomore middle hitter James Hofmann (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop McNicholas) (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Archbishop McNicholas), Petty and Fitterer.
 
In the second set, Lewis jumped out to a four-point lead at 6-2 on a kill apiece from Walsh, Fitterer and Petty, as well as capitalizing on three Grand Canyon errors. The Antelopes went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 8-all after two Flyer errors and kills from Ryan Mather, Gerrard Lipscombe and Ben Ponnet.
 
The set had 12 ties before Boldog tallied a service ace and a block assist from Hofmann and Fitterer for the Flyers to go up 24-22. Powell closed out the set with his sixth kill of the game.
 
Grand Canyon out hit Lewis in the third set. The Antelopes hit .448 with 16 kills and three errors to the Flyers' .087 with eight kills and six errors. After the Antelopes extended their lead to five points at 19-14 on a Flyer attack error, Lewis went on a 4-1 run to get within two at 20-18. Petty recorded a kill and a block assist along with Hofmann, including two Grand Canyon errors.
 
Two points was the closest the Flyers got late in the set, as the Antelopes went on a 5-3 run to close out the third set, 25-21, with a Lipscombe kill.
 
In the fourth set the Flyers got out to a 5-2 lead, off of kills by Powell and Petty and three Antelope attack errors. Lewis extended their lead to seven at 13-6 as Fitterer led the way with three kills during the run. A triple block by Fitterer, Powell and junior middle hitter Yiwei Zhou (Nanjing, China/Nanjing No. 1) (Nanjing, China/Nanjin No. 1) sealed the set, 25-14, and the match.
 
Grand Canyon had four players with double-digit kills led by Ponnet with 12. Mather, Lipscombe and Christian Ward each added 10 kills. Setter Keith Smith had 48 assists.
 
Lewis returns to action against Grand Canyon on Sunday (Feb. 3) for a 2 PM MT match at Antelope Gym.